Arthur (Besson book series)

Last updated

Arthur
Arthur (Book series cover).jpg
French cover for a box set containing the 4 novels.

Arthur et les Minimoys (2002)
Arthur et la cité interdite (2003)
Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard (2004)
Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes (2005)
Author Luc Besson
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Genre Children
Fantasy
PublisherÉditions Intervista
Published2002-2005
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Audiobook
E-book
No. of books4

The Arthur series refers to a series of fantasy novels for children written by Luc Besson, a film director and producer, and published from 2002 to 2005 in France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Contents

This term also refers to the feature films based on them, which Besson wrote, produced and directed. The films were made and released from 2006 to 2010, in France, the UK and the US. The series has also been produced in video game format.

Novels

The four novels were originally published in France by Intervista. Later reissues by Le Livre de Poche have dropped the "Arthur et" part of the titles.

  1. Arthur et les Minimoys (2002, literally and in English as "Arthur and the Minimoys")
  2. Arthur et la cité interdite (2003, literally and in English as "Arthur and the Forbidden City")
  3. Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard (2004, literally "Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard")
  4. Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes (2005, literally "Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds")

Only the first two books have been published in English (translator: Ellen Sowchek) [1] by HarperCollins in the United States and Faber and Faber in the United Kingdom. These two were reissued in one volume in 2007 by the latter publisher as Arthur and the Invisibles. [2]

Films

Arthur
Arthur (film series logo).png
Based onArthur
by Luc Besson
Produced by
  • Luc Besson
  • Emmanuel Prévost (1-3)
  • Stéphane Lecomte (2-3)
  • Fanny Besson (4)
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • EuropaCorp
  • Apollo Films (4)
Release date
2006–2022
CountryFrance
Languages
  • English (1-3)
  • French (4)
BudgetTotal (3 films):
$185 million
Box officeTotal (3 films):
$217.2 million
  1. Arthur and the Minimoys (2006), based on the two books Arthur et les Minimoys and Arthur et la cité interdite. In the film, 10-year-old Arthur Montgomery enters a magical land, known as the Land of the Minimoys, in a bid to see his grandfather Archibald Suchot, only to be confronted by the Evil M, Maltazard. It was altered as Arthur and the Invisibles for the United States release by The Weinstein Company, but this alteration is now out-of-commerce following the distributing company's closure although is only available on US and UK DVDs. [3]
  2. Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009), based on Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard. Set two years after the events of The Minimoys, a now 12-year-old Arthur returns to the Minimoys after receiving a distress-call from them. Maltazard later springs loose from the telescope and has now gained human size.
  3. Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010), based on Arthur et la guerre des deux mondes. In the film, Arthur must find a way to revert to his human size in order to stop the evil forces of Maltazard.
  4. Arthur, malédiction (2022) (literally translated to be Arthur, curse), a standalone spin-off psychological horror film.

The second and third installments, which were made back-to-back, have a directly continuous storyline but, in English version only, differ somewhat in the casting of the voice-only roles.

Video games

Video games for the popular consoles of the time have been released alongside the first two films. The Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard games have been distributed in the United Kingdom and under that name despite the film not being so.

Television series

An animated TV series, Arthur and the Minimoys , was produced by Studio 100, and debuted on 17 July 2018. A 20-episode web series was also being planned. [4]

Other media

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luc Besson</span> French filmmaker (born 1959)

Luc Paul Maurice Besson is a French filmmaker. He directed or produced the films Subway (1985), The Big Blue (1988), and La Femme Nikita (1990). Associated with the Cinéma du look film movement, he has been nominated for a César Award for Best Director and Best Picture for his films Léon: The Professional (1994) and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). He won Best Director and Best French Director for his sci-fi action film The Fifth Element (1997). He wrote and directed the sci-fi action film Lucy (2014) and the space opera film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).

<i>La Femme Nikita</i> (film) 1990 Franco-Italian action thriller film by Luc Besson

La Femme Nikita, also called Nikita in France, is a 1990 French-language action thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Anne Parillaud as the title character, a criminal who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering policemen during an armed pharmacy robbery. Her government handlers fake her death and recruit her as a professional assassin. After intense training, she starts a career as a killer, where she struggles to balance her work with her personal life. She shows talent at this and her career progresses until a mission in an embassy goes awry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éric Serra</span> French film composer

Éric Serra is a French composer. He is a frequent collaborator of film director Luc Besson.

<i>Taxi 2</i> 2000 French film by Gérard Krawczyk

Taxi 2 is a 2000 French action comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and released in March 2000. Starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal and Marion Cotillard. It is the second installment in the Taxi film series. It is a sequel to Taxi, written by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès in 1999. It was followed by Taxi 3 in January 2003.

<i>The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc</i> 1999 film by Luc Besson

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a 1999 English-language French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson and starring Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original score was composed by Éric Serra.

The history of French animation is one of the longest in the world, as France has created some of the earliest animated films dating back to the late 19th century, and invented many of the foundational technologies of early animation.

<i>Arthur and the Minimoys</i> (film) 2006 film by Luc Besson

Arthur and the Minimoys is a 2006 English-language French live-action/animated fantasy film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is based on the first two books of the Arthur children's books series, Arthur and the Minimoys and Arthur and the Forbidden City, by Besson.

<i>Arthur and the Invisibles</i> (video game) 2007 video game

Arthur and the Invisibles is three video games based on the 2006 French film Arthur and the Minimoys by Luc Besson. It retained the original name of the movie in Europe. The game involves Arthur and his two friends, Selenia and Bétamèche, on their mission to save the Minimoys' world from destruction. The game incorporates Besson's Minimoy universe and its inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxmo Puccino</span> Musical artist

Abdoulaye Plea Diarra, better known by his stage name Oxmo Puccino, is a Malian rapper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BUF Compagnie</span> French visual effects company

BUF Compagnie is a French visual effects company, specializing in CGI for feature films, commercials, and music videos.

Arthur is a common masculine given name.

Thierry Arbogast is a French cinematographer. He is best known for his collaborations with director Luc Besson on the films La Femme Nikita (1990), Léon: The Professional (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), Angel-A (2005), Arthur and the Invisibles (2006), Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009), The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010), The Lady (2011), The Family (2013), Lucy (2014), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and Anna (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EuropaCorp</span> French film production company

EuropaCorp S.A. is a French motion picture company headquartered in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, and one of a few full-service independent studios that both produce and distribute feature films. It specializes in production, distribution, home entertainment, VOD, sales, partnerships and licenses, recording, publishing and exhibition. EuropaCorp's integrated financial model generates revenues from a wide range of sources, with films from many genres and a strong presence in the international markets.

<i>Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard</i> 2009 French film

Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard is a 2009 English-language French live-action/animated fantasy film directed and co-written by Luc Besson, based on the third book of the Arthur children's books series by Besson. It is the sequel to Arthur and the Minimoys (2006), and the second installment in the Arthur film series.

<i>Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds</i> 2010 French film

Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds is a 2010 English-language French live-action/animated fantasy film directed and co-written by Luc Besson, based on the fourth and final book of the Arthur children's books series by Besson. It is the sequel to Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009) and the third installment in the Arthur film series. The film was shot back-to-back with the previous installment. It is the last installment in the main series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frédérique Bel</span> French actress

Frédérique Bel is a French actress and model. A native of Annecy in the French Alps, she became known for her role as Dorothy Doll in the La Minute Blonde sequence from Le Grand Journal on Canal+. She has since played main and supporting roles in many productions.

<i>No Limit</i> (TV series) French TV series (2012-2015)

No Limit is a 2012 French television action-adventure series created by filmmaker Luc Besson with Franck Philippon through Besson's EuropaCorp company. Along with Transporter: The Series, it represents one of Besson's first forays into television, although this time as a writer as well as a producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cité du Cinéma</span> Film studio

The Cité du Cinéma or Studios of Paris is a film studio complex originally supported and founded by the film director and producer Luc Besson, located in Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris, in a renovated power plant, commissioned in 1933 to power the Parisian metro. The studio complex is intended to be a competitor of Cinecittà in Rome, Pinewood in London and Babelsberg in Berlin. It was inaugurated on 21 September 2012. In February 2022 Tunisian-French film producer Tarak Ben Ammar finalized a deal to purchase Studios de Paris.

<i>Arthur – The Ride</i> Roller coaster at Europa-Park

ARTHUR is an inverted-spinning dark ride roller coaster at Europa-Park in Rust, Germany. The attraction opened in spring 2014 as part of the wider "ARTHUR - In the Minimoys Kingdom" area themed after the Arthur series of books and films by Luc Besson.

<i>Arthur, malédiction</i> 2022 French film by Barthélemy Grossmann

Arthur, malédiction is a 2022 French meta psychological horror film directed by Barthélemy Grossmann. It is the fourth installment overall in the Arthur film series, which is based on the eponymous children's fantasy novel series by Luc Besson, and serves a spin-off in which the original trilogy is presented as a film-within-a-film. The film stars an ensemble cast, and follows a group of Arthur fans who discover the house that was used as one of the trilogy live-action sequences set, only to find themselves being hunted down one-by-one by a group of deranged role-players.

References

  1. ChristopherW. "Children's books: Arthur and the Invisibles by Luc Besson — review" (The Guardian, 11 May 2013)
  2. "Luc Besson". Faber and Faber. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  3. Maddaus, Gene (March 19, 2018). "The Weinstein Co. Declares Bankruptcy". Variety. Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  4. Foster, Elizabeth (2016-11-25). "Studio 100 bets big on Arthur and the Minimoys". Kidscreen . Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  5. Littaye, Alan (June 28, 2014) "Europa Park Challenges Ratatouille Ride with New E-Ticket Attraction". MiceChat.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016